Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, Harriet Dart Defeated in Quarters

Emma Raducanu, Katie Boulter, and Harriet Dart all suffered defeats in the quarter-finals at Eastbourne. Russian sixth seed Daria Kasatkina defeated Raducanu 6-2 6-2 in challenging windy conditions. Italian third seed Jasmine Paolini beat Boulter 6-1 7-6 (7-0), as Boulter aimed for her second grass-court title this month following Nottingham. Canadian Leylah Fernandez overpowered Dart 6-2 6-1 in just over an hour.

This marked the first instance since 1978 that three British women reached the quarter-finals at Eastbourne. In the men’s event, Britain’s Billy Harris reached his first ATP Tour semi-final with a hard-fought 6-7 (3-7) 7-6 (7-4) 6-2 victory over Italian Flavio Cobolli.

Reflecting on her journey, Emma Raducanu discussed her renewed passion for tennis after undergoing wrist and ankle surgeries in 2023. Despite skipping the French Open to focus on fitness, the 2021 US Open champion showed glimpses of her form during the grass-court season. She reached the quarter-finals by defeating world number five Jessica Pegula for her first win over a top-10 opponent but struggled in the tough conditions against Kasatkina.

Ranked 32nd in the world, Boulter entered her quarter-final in good form, aware she would be seeded for the first time at Wimbledon starting next week. However, she faced challenges with her ball toss and suffered crucial service breaks in blustery conditions, losing 6-1 in the first set and eventually falling in a tight second set tie-break to Paolini.

Dart, facing Fernandez, who was the US Open runner-up in 2021, struggled against the higher-ranked Canadian, losing in straight sets despite a spirited effort.